BAE Systems is probably best known in the UK as the company that provides much of what the country uses for defense, whether that be aircraft, ships or even cyber security measures. But when the Rio Olympics begin in August, those in support of Team GB might hear athletes and media throw around BAE System’s name on the medal podium.
As part of an ongoing eight-year contract with UK Sport, engineers at BAE Systems have started working with Olympic and Paralympic athletes to better their game—the latest innovation to come out of this partnership being virtual reality training technology.
Similar to how a system like STRIVR operates within NFL and college football, the new technology, VR-Vantage, works to give athletes extra run throughs of the courses and environments where they will be competing.
According to The London Economic, ahead of the Olympics, engineers and trainers collected 3D footage of the courses of summer sports like sailing, canoe slalom and triathlon. This video is then available for athletes to watch on any virtual reality headset, or just merely as 360-degree video on their smartphones. So, they can be on the track in Rio practically anywhere.
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This type of technology has become immensely popular in America with football, baseball and even basketball teams. The concept of becoming more familiar with plays without even stepping onto the court or field has sold a good number of organizations on this variety of virtual reality technology.
This way, athletes can get practice without the wear on their body or the formality of actually training. The idea of getting a bit of training in without even hitting the water is probably comfortable for those in sailing or canoeing.
But most importantly, BAE Systems will hope that these athletes will feel comfortable while they are on the course, feeling as if they have been in these waters about a hundred times before.